


Summertime Gladness

by TooGoodToBeBad



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route, Fluff, Post-Blue Lions Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Post-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27038017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooGoodToBeBad/pseuds/TooGoodToBeBad
Summary: With Enbarr under control and the war over, Ashe and Petra take time to unwind by heading to the coast.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Petra Macneary
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Summertime Gladness

**Author's Note:**

> It was/is Petrashe Week, apparently, so happy Petrashe Week! I didn't really sign up for that (I didn't even know it was happening until last week so I dunno the prompts), so consider this a happy coincidence.

For the first time in a long time, Ashe was actually bored. Now that the anxiety and excitement that had come from finally seizing the Imperial capital had dissipated into thin air, he found himself temporarily aimless. The Blue Lions had to stay in Enbarr just a bit longer to make sure everything was in tiptop condition (or as tiptop as a city could be after being besieged), and that involved a whole lot of meetings. A whole lot of meetings that Ashe wasn’t part of.

Truth be told, he hadn’t really minded. The Professor had asked if he wanted to join in, but he knew he was out of his depth there. Talks of economics, territories, laws, administration, and all sorts of super important stuff were best left handled by the likes of Lorenz, Ferdinand, Sylvain, Felix, and His Highness. If someone said enough complicated sounding words to Ashe, he figured his nose would start bleeding all over the place.

He was more than happy to sit out of those stuffy discussions, even if it meant having to eat lunch in the sweltering heat of the palace without his usual friends.

“Goddess, this place is hot as balls,” Caspar groaned as he slid into the seat across him, the stack of meat on his plate nearly toppling over with the sudden motion.

Ashe let out a low chuckle and tugged at the collar of his linen shirt. “I wouldn’t quite phrase it like that, but yes, this heat is unbearable. Almost makes me miss Faerghan blizzards.”

“I’ve almost forgotten how ungodly hot it gets this far south,” Caspar wiped away the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand before picking up a chunk of meat and tossing it into his mouth. “Gee, it sure is boring around here.”

Ashe raised an eyebrow at that. Caspar had this exact conversation with the Professor just the other day, who only sighed and said something along the lines of “my boy, this peace is what all true warriors strive for.”

Not wanting a repeat of _that_ conversation, he only offered a half-hearted shrug. “At the risk of sounding ungrateful, yes, I’d say it has been. But I suppose that’s all for the better now. At least now we don’t have to worry about things like demonic beasts!” he beamed at his cyan-haired companion. 

“Still, I’m almost itching for some excitement. Hopefully someone starts a bar fight later, just so I can whoop their ass,” Caspar replied. “By the by, Raphael, Ignatz, Dorothea, and I are hitting the bar later; Raphael found a place that wasn’t destroyed by Hubert’s insistence on being a total dick when we attacked. You wanna come with?”

Ashe could feel his mouth twist into a tiny frown. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. The last time I went drinking... let’s just say it didn’t go well.”

From across the table, Caspar gave him one of his signature toothy grins. “I’m familiar. I don’t know how you got goaded into a drinking contest with Ingrid - that girl can hold her liquor like nobody’s business. But hey, if it’ll make you feel better, I’m sure Ignatz is more of a lightweight than you are.”

“I appreciate it, but I’ll pass all the same.”

His friend nodded at his words before his cyan eyes lit up with a mischievous glint that Ashe had seen enough times to know what was next. “Oh, hey, Petra!” Caspar called out cheerily. “What brings you here?”

Ashe could feel her presence in the way the bench moved as Petra sat beside him. He shifted nervously and found himself biting the inside of his cheek before turning his head toward her and giving her a friendly smile. The smile was quickly returned.

“Hello, Ashe and Caspar. I would just be liking your company for now during the mealtime. Is that alright with you?”

“You don’t even have to ask, Petra!” Caspar replied brightly. “You know you’re always welcome here. Right, Ashe?”

“Of course!” he replied a bit too quickly to avoid stumbling over his words. “I-we! We always like having you around.”

Caspar bit back a chuckle and raised an eyebrow at his friend, an amused look in his eyes. “Say, Petra, a few of us are dropping by a bar later this evening. Do you and Ashe wanna come with us?”

A wide grin formed on Petra’s face. “That is sounding wonderful for this evening! What do you think, Ashe? Will you be joining our friends?”

Trying to ignore both the smirk coming his way from Caspar and the way his heart was flipping in his chest just from sitting beside her, he forced a nod. “Sure, I’ll join you guys.”

“Ohh, that is reminding me!” her violet eyes lit up with glee, and his heart did another somersault within his ribs. “Since it is still early, I was thinking that the three of us can be going to the beach today! There is a coast very near to us, and if we take my wyvern it is only a few minutes of flying. Will you guys be going with me?”

There was a decidedly mischievous edge to Caspar’s voice. “Oh, I’d love to go, Petra, but Linhardt and I are going riding later.”

Petra raised a curious eyebrow. “I do not think I have ever seen Linhardt even go near the horses, yes? Or even you!”

Caspar shrugged, almost too nonchalantly for Ashe’s liking. “Take it up with him, I guess. I’m just tagging along,” he turned his gaze to Ashe. “Hey Ashe, weren’t you telling me the other day that you’d never been to the beach before?”

Ashe felt his face start to flush as two pairs of eyes were trained at him. “I, uh, yes, I do remember saying that-”

“Is this being true, Ashe? I know you have said to me that you have never been swimming, but to never actually be visiting the beach? Did you not go with the Professor with Seteth and Flayn to the Rhodos coast?” Petra asked.

“Nope, I got food poisoning the day before we were supposed to leave. I think Flayn and Annette were on cooking duty that time.”

A thoughtful expression crossed her face. “And what about when we visited Brigid to save my grandfather?”

A lone bead of sweat traced its way down his forehead, although he wasn’t sure if it was from the heat or his nerves. “I didn’t join you guys back then.”

She hummed thoughtfully for a second before her eyes lit up. “I remember, you were being with me when we rescued Claude from… from…”

“Derdriu,” Caspar offered helpfully from across the table.

She snapped excitedly and clicked her tongue. “Yes! Derdriu! Remember, you were there, Ashe!”

“Yeah, I was there, but that doesn’t really count!” he bleated nervously. “The coast was all rocks and stuff. And there’s a difference between seeing something and actually being there.”

“Well, then it is settling!” she grinned excitedly and pounded her fist against the table. “You and I will be visiting the beach together! Today!” she gripped him by the shoulders and shook him like a tree.

A shaky chuckle escaped him as he fixed his grey hair, which was tousled slightly by her excitement. “Sure! That sounds great, Petra.”

“I am glad you are thinking so! The beach is truly incredible, and-” she cut herself off with a frown. “Please be excusing me, I have forgotten to get sauce for my food,” she rose from her seat with a fluid grace and headed off to grab some sauce. 

When Ashe was sure she was out of earshot, he leveled what he could only hope was a fierce scowl at Caspar. “What in blazing Ailell do you think you’re doing, Caspar?”

“I’m just helping out a friend, is all. I mean, Dorothea calls me oblivious _all the time_ , but even a bonehead like me can see that you two have been dancing around each other since we all found ourselves back at the monastery. You two have it bad for each other, I’m telling you.”

“Well, I don’t need your help,” Ashe grumbled coolly despite the warmth coursing his veins. “I’ve got this under control.”

“Bud,” Caspar let out a low whistle and cracked another crooked smile. “If you get back from the beach and you’re still being stubborn, I will get you drunk enough to spill your feelings at the bar. Just trust me on this, will you?” 

“I have no intentions of getting drunk later.”

“It is not good to be getting drunk, Ashe. Whatever advice Caspar is giving you, I suggest that you be ignoring it,” Petra slid back into the seat beside him before giving him a mischievous wink that turned his bones into mush. “But what was he giving advice about?”

“Nothing!” he squeaked while pointedly ignoring Caspar’s smug and stupid smirk. “When do we leave?”

* * *

Ashe thought he’d seen the whole world from atop a wyvern. The view from the clouds filled his soul with an incomparable freedom, an exhilarating rush from soaring where few dared to tread. People were reduced to mere specks, and buildings could fit in the palm of his hands. The sky made him feel powerful.

The sea was a different beast.

The sea seemed to reach out until forever, extending past the horizon and then some. Everywhere he looked, he was met with the rich and vivid hue of seawater that swallowed the space before him. By his feet, waves rushed over sand, and claws of frothy brine reached out to touch him. Every breath he took filled his lungs with the salty taste of seabreeze, another reminder of the expanse before him.

He’d never really realized how small he was.

It was different in Derdriu, where there were a hundred and one different distractions to keep his focus from the sea, with the first and foremost being “trying not to die.” With the urgency of a raging war pressing on their shoulders, he didn’t have the luxury of time to take a break and take everything in. Now with the war ostensibly over, there were no more distractions.

But if he was being honest with himself, right now there was _one_ distraction.

He was very much tempted to tear his gaze from the indomitably deep blue before him and focus on the vibrant plum of her hair, or the rich purples of the various markings on her skin. Sure, the sea was beautiful, but so was she.

“What are you thinking of the sea, Ashe?” she asked from beside him. Her voice was hazy, almost reverent, from being just a bit closer to home. 

He could feel a wide grin cross his face as he turned to her. “It’s incredible, Petra. Really. It’s a bit daunting, though, because it’s so… much.”

“I am knowing what you mean, Ashe. The sea is a great vastness that scares many. But the fear is keeping people from enjoying it,” the smile on her face brightened while the thumping in his chest got louder. “There is much enjoyment to be found in the sea. I will be showing you.”

He found his hand tangled in hers. Heat bloomed underneath his skin from feeling her touch, and a nervous laugh escaped him. She quirked a curious eyebrow at him. “What is funny, Ashe?”

“N-nothing!” he stammered and tried to ignore the heat spreading from the base of his neck. “The waves. They kind of tickle, you know? With the way they just lap at my feet.”

“Ah, yes. And you are feeling the grains of sand against your feet, too?”

He nodded his head excitedly. “Yeah, I think so.”

“That is because you are only standing still. You are only feeling the motion of the water. But when you are swimming, the energy is feeling different,” she tugged at his hand eagerly while she led him deeper into the water. 

With a dopey grin on his face, he found his feet moving along with her. The stillness of the water was easily broken by their steps. He could feel the water rising now as the ground sloped underneath his toes. Water brushed against his knees, his hips, his stomach, until it was chest-deep. Wrapped in the cool embrace of the sea, he found himself shivering at its touch. Just ahead of him, she shot him another dazzling smile that was almost warm enough to stop his shaking. 

“Now is the fun part,” she winked at him, and he nearly lost his footing and slipped underneath the surface. “Do you have trust in me, Ashe?”

“Of course I do, Petra. I’d follow you to the edge of the world and back.”

She blushed at his words before taking his hand once again. “Then let us be going!”

“To where?”

“The edge of the world.”

His jaw dropped at her words, and his heart leapt into his throat. His wide-eyed stare elicited a peal of playful laughter from her. “I am only joking with you, Ashe! Let us be swimming now, yes?”

“I’d like nothing more, Petra.”

* * *

As he watched her emerge from the water, his breath caught in his throat. Droplets clung to her skin, and she was bathed in warm summer sunshine. She moved as gracefully as a water nymph, even when she plopped down beside him on the blanket they’d placed on the sand.

“So, Ashe, how was your enjoyment of today? Is the sea as amazing as you were hoping?” she playfully nudged his shoulder. 

“Today was incredible, Petra,” he breathed. “Thank you for today. For sharing this with me.”

“Of course,” something in her expression softened, and her voice suddenly seemed a lot more hushed. “You are being special to me, Ashe. I am happy that you are sharing this moment with me.”

He gulped nervously as he watched her twirl loose strands of hair with her index finger. The crashing of waves in front of him was being drowned out by the thumping in his chest and the rush of blood in his ears. Caspar was right, apparently - he _did_ have it bad for her. 

He could only hope she had it bad for him as well. 

“Petra,” he said softly, and the way she looked at him, with violet eyes filled what he wanted to believe was hope, stole all the air from his lungs. “I…” he stuttered hopelessly before swallowing his words.

“What is it, Ashe?” she leaned her head in towards him, and _Goddess was she always this close_? 

Hell, he’d spent the better part a year taking leaps of faith. What was one more?

His lips melted against hers with a gentle, hesitant passion. Her lips tasted of saltwater, but it was intoxicating all the same. When he pulled away for air, he could feel his mouth twisting into what had to be the silliest and goofiest grin he’d ever worn. “Was that what you wanted, Petra?”

She smiled bashfully, a very pleasant-looking blush blossoming across her cheeks. “Very much so, Ashe. But maybe next time we should be closing our eyes, yes?”

He let out a sheepish laugh at that. “And when is this _next time_?”

When she leaned in again and pressed her lips to his, he found himself hoping for many more _next times_.

**Author's Note:**

> Feed me skittles on a burial ground or something
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys liked this! I've had this sitting in my drafts for a month and a half, but I'm glad I got around to finishing this. I thought of this during much more beach-appropriate weather, but I got real distracted and this got pushed way back and now it's nearly Halloween and very much not summer anymore.
> 
> These two are dorks, so I wanted to show them some love. This is my first time writing this pair (and it might not be my last), so I hope I got their dynamic and their vibe right. They were a lot of fun to write, although I'm sure the guy monitoring my Google Docs activity probably thinks I can't speak English properly now).
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
